Club member publishes true crime book about about killer captured at Polo Grounds

Long-time National Press Club member John T. Aquino has published his second book this year, "The Radio Burglar: Thief Turned Cop Killer in 1920s Queens," which was just released by Exposit Books, a McFarland imprint.

The book tells the story of NYPD Patrolman Arthur Kenney, who was allegedly shot and killed in April 1926 by a burglar who specialized in stealing radios, which at the time were likely the most expensive item in a home. aA massive manhunt followed, and the killer was ultimately arrested on opening day at the Polo Grounds gates during a match between the Brooklyn Robins and the New York Giants with Mayor James J. Walker in attendance. Two detectives staked out the baseball stadium using deductions and undercover work that were at the time compared to that of Sherlock Holmes. A murder trial followed with the defense arguing that the burglar's bullet had not been the cause of death.

The story doesn't end there but continues with another and related murder trial nine years later of  Kenney's partner.

Aquino is a Silver Owl member of the Club, an attorney, and journalist. He retired as a senior legal editor for Bloomberg Law in 2017, is a freelance journalist, a fiction writer, and an active member of the D.C. and Maryland bars. His earlier book this year, "Truth and Lives on Film: The Legal Problems in Depicting Real Persons and Events in a Fictional Medium," was released in June. The author will discuss that book on Oct. 20 in an NPC zoom event.